Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Jefferson Barracks (MO); On-site; USD 42,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) at GS-06 to serve as the primary scheduler for consults and main point of contact for patients, community partners, and care teams.

The role supports and coordinates clerical functions across interdisciplinary care delivery models within a busy VA setting. The incumbent will manage scheduling workflows, maintain patient communications, and assist with documentation in the electronic health record.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• Experience with health care scheduling and patient flow preferred.
• Ability to communicate effectively with patients and clinic staff.

Responsibilities

• Complete in-patient and out-patient scheduling needs.
• Serve as primary point of contact for incoming calls.
• Coordinate clinic utilization and wait times using reports.
• Maintain communications with patients, community partners, VA centers, and other agencies.

Skills

Scheduling

Interdisciplinary coordination

Patient communication

Clerical administration

EHR familiarity

Education

High school diploma or GED

Tools

MyHealthyVet

Electronic Health Record (EHR)

Job description

Summary

The Technology - Innovation - and Development Service is seeking an Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) to serve as the primary scheduler for consults and first point of contact for patients - community partners - and more. The AMSA plans and coordinates the clerical functions of consults and is responsible for a broad range of administrative and clerical duties. The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information - refer to Required Documents below.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• Education: High school diploma - General Education Development equivalency certificate - or proficiency certificate from a State or territorial-level Board or Department of Education
• English Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C.
• 7403(f)
• May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Grandfathering Provision: Employees in VHA in this occupation - under a permanent - appropriate - and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard - are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and/or assignment held - including positive education and registration/certification where applicable
• For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed - the following provisions apply: Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard
• Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation Grade Determinations: Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) - GS-06
• Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade
• Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Advanced knowledge of the technical health care process (including - but not limited to - scheduling across interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community models and patient health care portals) as it relates to access to care
• Advanced knowledge of policies and procedures associated with interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery and/or care in the community operational activities that affect patient flow - and patient support care administrative functions to include - but not limited to appointment cycles - outside patient referrals - follow-up care - overbooking - provider availability - etc
• Advanced knowledge of medical terminology due to the technical nature of language utilized by clinicians
• Ability to collaborate and communicate with a wide range of medical clinicians across multiple disciplines (e.g. - medical doctors - nurse practitioners - physician assistants - psychologists - psychiatrists - social workers - clinical pharmacists - and nursing staff) to accomplish team goal setting to ensure medical care to patients is met
• Ability to independently set priorities and organize work to meet deadlines - ensuring compliance with established processes - policies - and regulations
• Ability to communicate tactfully and effectively - electronically - by phone - in person - and in writing - with internal and external customers
• This may include preparing reports in various formats and presenting data to various organizational levels - as well as resolving patientconcerns
• Assignment: For all assignments above the FPL - the higher-level duties must be of significant scope - administrative independence - complexity - and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• At the advanced level - the Medical Support Assistant (Advanced) (AMSA) performs difficult and responsible specialized and expert administrative patient support while working collaboratively in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model
• Work involves specialized administrative judgment and the flexible use of a wide range of clinical flow processes relating to access to care across multiple clinics - specialties - and/or care in the community resources
• Recommend changes to existing clinic procedures based on current administrative guidelines
• Expertise in utilizing numerous advanced patient systems in support of multiple clinics involved in an interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model
• Coordinates with the patient care team to review clinic appointment availability (utilization) to ensure that clinic schedules are closely monitored to effectively support the needs of the clinics - and makes adjustments as necessary
• MSAs at this level develop and/or maintain effective and efficient communication with the patient - interdisciplinary coordinated care delivery model teams - VA medical centers - and other agencies (e.g. - assist with communications during the inpatient to outpatient discharge
• communicate with non-VA medical facilities
• prepare correspondence to notify patients of normal lab results
• manage a system for follow-up care such as consults - tests - etc.).Other assignments at this level include - but are not limited to: processes incoming patient secure messaging through MyHealthyVet and coordinates with care team as appropriate
• participates in team huddles and team meetings to manage - plan - problem solve - and follow-up with patient care by sharing information and collaborating with the interdisciplinary team
• setting priorities and deadlines - adjusting the flow and sequencing of the work to meet team and patient needs
• identifies incomplete encounters and communicates findings to providers
• as needed
• assists the team to reinforce the plan of care and self-help solutions
• enters appropriate information into the electronic record
• monitors pre-appointment information and/or requirements to assure readiness for patient visit/procedure
• manages patient systems to verify and validate accuracy and resolve issues
• evaluates patient information and clinic schedule lists to determine whether the patient requires an immediate appointment
• informs team members about shared patients (i.e. - those who receive their care at multiple VA centers or those who receive care in the community)
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• This position is above the full performance level
• Physical Requirements: The work is usually sedentary - but it requires periods of walking - standing - bending - or climbing - and employees may carry light items such as books - instruments - laptops - and other similar materials
  The work is conducted in office - conference room and clinical/hospital patient care settings
  Typically - the work is hazard-free - not requiring any special clothing or equipment.

Duties

• Completes in-patient and out-patient scheduling needs
• Serves as the primary Point of Contact for incoming calls
• Coordinates with care line management and supervisors to review clinic utilization and wait times using various reports
• Develops and maintains effective and efficient communications with patients - community partners - VA medical centers - and other agencies
• Adjusts workflow and work sequencing to meet team and patient needs
• Makes administrative notes in veterans Electronic Health Record chart
• Assists Veterans with coordinating self-assessments - education forms - and tallying totals for therapists
• Presents data to leadership with observations and recommendations for scheduling action - customer service concerns - clinic profile development - and modification within the service
• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Full-Time - 0730-1600 Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases When setting pay - a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade)
• Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time off per year (13-26 days of annual leave - 13 days of sick leave - 11 paid Federal holidays per year)Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual - based on prior [work experience] or military service experience
• Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment - up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth - adoption - or foster care placement of a child
• Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment - full time employees with a total family income below $144 -000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66
• Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Ad-hoc - may be available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 00000000 Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized